KARACHI, April 9: A large number of people staged a protest demonstration at Karachi Press Club on Monday demanding immediate release of all those picked up by the intelligence agencies.

Addressing the protesters, including the relatives of the disappeared people, the speakers maintained that if anyone was required for investigation he should be formally arrested, tried in open courts and his relatives and lawyers should be permitted to meet them.

Rejecting the statement of General Musharraf that the missing people might have been picked up by the banned jihadi organisations, they said he wanted to protect the illegal acts of these agencies by putting the blame on banned organisations.

They demanded that General Musharraf should meet the relatives of the missing people and apprise them of their whereabouts. They also urged the human rights organisations to raise the issue and get them released.

The relatives of Saud Memon (disappeared since December 2004); Gohram Salih (since August 8, 2004); Abdul Karim Mahmood (June 13, 2004); Abdul Muneem (November 12, 2004); Muneer Mengal (April 14, 2006); Ghulam Mohammad Baloch (December 3, 2006); Saleem Baloch, Noor Jan Umrani (February 9, 2007), class three student Asad Usman and Nazir of Dera Bugti; Rafiq Khoso, Afzal Dilbar and Faiz Mohammad (April 5, 2007); Saifullah Paracha; Masood Janjua; Dr Safdar Sarki; Asif Baladi; Dr Haneef Bugti and the families of other disappeared people participated in the demonstration.